Asia's shoppers go online as Internet barriers fall

Consumers in Asia are taking to Internet shopping like never before as the region becomes one of the world's fastest growing e-commerce markets. Internet retailing is increasingly making its presence felt in Asia because telecommunications infrastructure has improved, and payment modes, a major obstacle to online shopping, are now more secure. As more people in Asian countries such as China and India get hooked up to the Internet, online sales are expected to rise by an average of 20 percent a year. In some markets, such as Japan, they are expected to increase by as much as 40 percent annually.

Internet penetration rates, the percent of the population that has Internet access, is about 17 percent in Asia versus 73 percent in North America and almost 50 percent in Europe, according to www.internetworldstats.com.